


An Essay Of Love

by kirkwords



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, jackunzel fluff since i cant help myself, teaching isnt that important to the plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25597147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirkwords/pseuds/kirkwords
Summary: Jackson Overland moves to a new city and gets the job of teaching history to a bunch of annoying teens every day. The one thing keeping him from handing in his two-week notice as soon as he arrives is the sunshiney, optimistic art teacher who unlocks not only his classroom but his heart.
Relationships: Hiccup Haddock III & Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood) & Merida (Disney) & Rapunzel (Disney), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood)/Rapunzel (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. September 1st

The first day of school was always stressful for anyone, student or teacher. Jackson Overland walked onto the campus, his backpack slung over his shoulder, and his laptop under his arm. Still groggy from waking up at the crack of dawn, he slowly opened the door to the teachers’ lounge to find three other teachers happily chatting around a kitchenette nestled neatly in the corner of the lounge. The shortest of the three caught his eye first.

She was a young-looking woman, with long, golden blonde hair, tied into a braid going down her back. She was wearing a purple sundress covered in different coloured flowers and beige dancing flats. On one side of her, a woman with wild red hair was sipping a mug of what seemed to be pure black coffee, peacefully listening on to the conversation. Leaning against the kitchenette island was a tall man, around 6 foot, with dusty auburn hair. He appeared to be holding onto a pair of crutches, and as Jack glanced down he could see that he was missing the bottom half of his left shin. 

“Uh, hi?” Jack said quietly, beelining for the coffee machine, chucking his bag on an empty chair.

“Hey, Overland? New history teacher, right? Nick said you’d be starting today.” The man said, extending a hand to Jack. 

“Uh yeah. I’m Jackson or Jack. I don’t mind,” he responded, taking his hand, and giving it a firm shake.

“The names Hayden, though most of the staff and older students here call me Hiccup,” the man replied, “I teach metal and woodwork here. Rapunzel here teaches art, and Merida does P.E.” He added, a kind smile on his face, gesturing to each woman as he said her name. Rapunzel gave him a cheery smile, before turning back to Merida and resuming their conversation.

“Wait, why ‘Hiccup’?” Jack asked.

“Had a bad case of hiccoughs in one of my senior classes when I first started,” Hayden explained, “I couldn’t give a single instruction clearly without hiccoughing, so the students nicknamed me Hiccup, and needless to say, it caught on rather quickly.”

“So, are you lot the only ones who work here? Or has everyone else taken the day off?” Jack joked, stepping around Merida to get to the coffee machine. Looking out the window, they could all see that the sun was still hiding over the horizon, not wanting to start the day.

“Hic and I live out of town, and Punzie just likes to be early,” Merida informed him, brushing a loose hair out of her face, “Why did you wander in here so early?” 

“Figured I should give myself time to meet my new co-workers, and have a snoop around the place to find out where everything is. Don’t want to get lost on the first day, right?” Jack said, which gained a unanimous approving nod from the others.

“I can show you to your classroom. The history room is just around the corner from my art studio.” Rapunzel piped up. She walked over to her bag; a homemade tote painted and embroidered with coloured flowers and butterflies lay over the back of one of the chairs. She scooped up the bag’s handles and hung it over her shoulder. Jack took that as his cue to grab his own things that he had carelessly tossed down earlier. Sliding his laptop into his bag this time so he could hold his coffee, Jack waved Hayden and Merida goodbye and followed Rapunzel into the school. 

The walk to the history room wasn’t the quickest journey, as it sat in an old building on the far edge of the campus. Rapunzel walked up into the large block of classrooms and came to a door on the first floor with a decal on the window that read  _ 67 - HISTORY & CLASSICAL STUDIES _

“This was one of the first buildings on this land when the school opened. The other two were pulled down and remodelled decades ago due to structural integrity.” She said, putting her key into the lock. With a swift turn, she pushed the door open and wandered into the small classroom, with rows of desks big enough for two people each facing a single desk and a whiteboard at the front. Jack sat his backpack on the chair behind the front desk. He sipped his coffee and sat it on the desk. 

“How do you know that? Did they hold a course for all the staff that I missed?”

“I was a student here,” Rapunzel replied, unlocking the door to Jack’s resource cupboard for him. “I studied Art History in my senior year, and they covered a lot of old architecture around the campus. ”

“Oh.”

Rapunzel giggled to herself and rolled her eyes. Jack sat at his desk and flicked through his lesson planner. 

“Seniors first period. Shouldn’t be too much trouble, right?” He muttered, glancing to Rapunzel for some kind of affirmation.

“You’ll be fine; they usually have everything sorted. Now, I have some class plans to finish up, so I’ll leave you to it?” Rapunzel asked, spinning her keys around her left index finger. Jack nodded and reached for his coffee, taking a sip. He was rather taken in by Rapunzel. Her seemingly unbreakable optimism shone as bright as her eyes. The way her hair soaked up the sunlight in every room, he wouldn’t be shocked if it was magically powered by the sun. He didn’t hear the metal crutches as they entered his room, his mind fixated on the door that led to the art studio. 

"Somebody’s got a crush" Hiccup joked, leaning against the open class door. Jack jumped, making Hiccup laugh at his frightened expression. 

"What are you talking about? I've just met her. Besides, crushes are for school kids, we're adults." Jack stammered. 

"Sure you don't. You've been staring at her like that since you got here," Hiccup said, taking a seat on the nearest desk. "I'm not saying you don't have a chance, but you might need a wingman." 

"A wingman?" 

Hiccup nodded. 

"I'd consider myself quite the matchmaker, just don't ask my friends that." he quickly added. "Took my fiancée and me about five straight years of awkward flirting to actually get together."

Jack smiled at the comment. He had been worrying all summer about this new job, and if he would have anyone that liked him. It was a small town he had moved, so most people living here would most likely have grown up here. Though from how nice his new co-workers seemed to be, Jack found himself worrying less and less. 

Hiccup and Jack took a tour of the school, with Hiccup telling him about some of the things he’d heard and seen the students get up to in previous years. Some students who had arrived early before class were milling around the grounds, and would wave to Hiccup, or sometimes scream out to him. One particular interaction struck Jack as a bit odd.

A student, no older than 16 sprinted up to Hiccup and tackled him with a hug. Hiccup did the best he could to hug him back while staying upright on his crutches.

“Hey, Hayden! Are you and Astrid coming over tonight?” Hiccup chuckled and nodded.

“Don’t worry Gustav, we’ll be there.” Gustav seemed satisfied with that response and ran back off to his friends. Jack scratched his head and turned to Hiccup.

“What was that about?” 

“Oh, he’s my sister’s nephew. It’s his birthday today, so his folks are throwing him a party.” 

“Wouldn’t that make him your nephew too?”

“Her husband’s family.”

“Oh.”

The pair continued around the school and found themselves back at the history room. Jack glanced up at the clock above his desk. He had about 20 minutes until class started. He used the time to finish his coffee before it went cold and to rearrange his classroom. Hiccup helped reorganise the resource cupboard, as both men agreed that an even number of legs was needed to effectively move desks. With the room now to his standard, Jack sat in his chair, spinning it back behind his desk. 

Another look to the clock; 10 minutes until class. He could do this.


	2. Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's first afternoon at his new job led to two very different offers for his evening.

First and second period went along smoothly. Hiccup stayed in Jack’s class for his free period after the morning break, and pondered around quietly on his computer at the back of the room for most of it. The students paid attention for the most part, except for one kid who seemed to fall asleep within 5 minutes. Jack made a mental note to check on him after class if he was still there, and continued teaching. 

“Now, can anyone tell me something about the Russian Revolution?” Jack turned to face his pupils. He pointed his whiteboard marker to a girl at the front who had her hand raised, indicating her to speak.

“Anastasia?”

Jack smiled, and very messily scribbled ‘Anastasia’ onto the whiteboard. He spoke as he wrote. 

“Grand Duchess Anastasia. The youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas the Second. What was so interesting about her?” He offered back to the class. Several students raised their hands. Jack chose a boy sitting a couple of rows back.

“They thought she had survived the assassination on her family.” 

“Yes, they did. Are there any other people you guys know from that time?" A single hand shot into the air. 

"Rasputin."

This caused a chorus of laughter and bad singing of the song _Rasputin_ by _Boney M._ Jack calmed his class down only after Hiccup gave him a stern look to keep the volume down before someone complained. 

The class was soon after that set to the task of researching a notable figure from the Russian Revolution and taking notes on things they found interesting to share with the class later. 

Jack’s phone lit up with a message as soon as he sat back down at his desk. An email from Hiccup was previewed on the screen. Unlocking his phone, Jack read the message. 

**Want to go out for lunch? I have no classes this afternoon, and Merida won’t stop nagging me about hanging out with you more. I think she wants me to have more friends at work or something.** **  
****Also can I get your cell number? Not in a weird way, I just don’t want to have to only contact you through work emails, you know?**

**Signed,**

**Mr. Hayden Haddock.**

Jack suppressed a laugh and hit ‘Reply’ to the email.

**Lunch sounds good. I have my Freshman class 6th period, so I’ll have to be back for that.**

**My number is 202-555-0124**

**Happy Stalking!**

**Mr. Jackson Overland**

Jack looked up from his desk and saw Hiccup giving him a death glare over the top of his laptop. So he’d read Jack’s reply. A knock on the class door drew everyone's attention away from their papers. Jack stood from his desk and walked to the door. Merida was stood in front of a 16 year old boy, who was looking at his feet. They were both in fitness attire, no doubt coming over from Merida's class in the gymnasium. At a closer look, Jack saw that it was Gustav. Despite looking to the floor, his eyes sparkled with mischief, Jack recognised the look that he had given many an educator in his youth. 

"Mr. Larson has been disrupting my class, I was hoping I could leave him here with you, to show him how students are meant to behave," Merida said sternly, though Jack could see the sly smirk forming on her lips. 

"Yeah, not a problem. I have a spare desk for him." Jack took Gustav into his classroom, smiling at the boys reaction at seeing Hiccup cooped in the corner. Jack made sure to sit the family members away from each other. 

The rest of the class went smoothly. The kids got up and shared the information they had found, Gustav even getting up and giving it a go. He was informed by another student that he’d borrowed Hiccup’s laptop to fulfill the task. After the bell for lunch and his class cleared out, the sleeper as well, Jack remained at his desk. He slipped papers he didn’t need on him 24/7 into drawers under and next to his desk, mentally writing down what he was putting in each of them. He glanced up to someone tapping on his desk. Hiccup stood next to Gustav, who had the same shine in his eyes that he had had when Merida had referred him. _This can’t be good,_ Jack thought, inhaling deeply and indicating for Gustav to speak. Clearly, this kid had something he wanted to tell him.

“Do you want to come to my party?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Please? I think you’re really cool, and Hayden told me you could just go with him and Astrid.” Gustav had found himself on a tangent, rattling off all the things they could do at his party. From the things he was listing, Jack couldn’t tell if his parents had a lot of money, or if he was just far too hopeful for his own good. 

“Uh, sure. I think I can make it.” 

Gustav beamed brighter than the sun then booked it out of the classroom, ecstatic that his new favourite teacher was going to his party. 

“That’s going to bite me in the ass, isn’t it?” Jack muttered. Hiccup laughed.

“Oh, you’ve got to keep your word now. You’re coming to the party.” Jack cursed and finished tidying his classroom. He was so focused on the fact that he’d agreed to go to some kids party, that he didn’t quite notice the teacher swap-out. 

“Hic tells me you’re going to Larson’s party tonight,” Rapunzel remarked. “Want a plus one?”

Jack went to stand up so suddenly that he smacked his head on the edge of the desk. He heard Rapunzel laugh and smiled to himself, his face flushing red, before sorting himself out and standing up normally. 

“Uh, yeah. Didn’t want to break the little guys heart.” He joked, the crown of his head still stinging. He didn’t want to reach for it, incase she laughed at him again. His eyes did a quick scan of the room. “Where’s Haddock? He was taking me on a lunch date. Couldn’t even wait for me.” 

“Guess you got stood up.” Rapunzel shrugged, smiling. “I’m sure he just went out to his car. You know where the staff carpark is, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know where I’m going. You got lunch plans?” Rapunzel shook her head.

“Just the staff room. Have some marking to do.” 

Jack locked up his room, saying goodbye to Rapunzel and weaved through the crowds of teenagers and made it to the staff carpark. His eyes scanned the cars looking for Hiccup, finally finding him leaning against what looked like a rather expensive car. 

“Please don’t ask me to drive that thing,” Jack mused, seeing a person already sitting in the driver’s seat. Hiccup laughed, and went around to the passengers side. 

“Nope, I got a chauffeur,” He said, though Jack could tell he was kidding, and didn’t actually pay anyone to take them to lunch. “Tuffnut’s coming with us, hope that’s okay?”

“The more the merrier.” They got into the car, Jack found himself stuck in the backseat next to a large glass reptile cage. It was full of different plants, both real and fake, and bits of wood. Two large wooden beams hung on the top of the cage, going from one end to another. Tuff told him when he got in the car that it was for his sister’s pet tree pythons, Barf and Belch. When Jack asked about the names, Tuff just shrugged and replied,

"It’s Ruffnut, I never question her anymore." 

Lunch was rather uneventful, Tuffnut took the trio to a small sushi bar in town. While they were there, they spotted some seniors having lunch there too, though they didn’t speak to them. 

Jack tried to keep up with the conversation at the table, the witty banter and remarks between Hiccup and his friend. The thought of Rapunzel sitting in the staff room, eating her lunch by herself, maybe with Merida kept sticking in his mind. Should he have asked if they wanted to join them? Should he have stayed back at the school with her, to keep her company? Jack’s phone buzzed on the table, drawing his attention to it. Picking it up, he saw a text from an unknown number   
  
**Hey Overland, my offer for a +1 to Larson’s party is still up if you want** **  
****Raps.**

Jack looked up from his phone, his face heating up. Hiccup and Tuffnut met his eyes with childish glee. So they were the ones behind this. 

“You could at least ask me before giving my number to random people.”

“Where would the fun be in that? Besides, I got a text from her saying that you didn’t answer her earlier.” Hiccup shot back. He had a way of saying everything in a very matter of fact tone, but still had a jovial lilt to it.

“I thought she was kidding!”

Hiccup raised his brow, seeing right through Jack’s bluff. It’s not that he didn’t think Rapunzel was joking, but it just seemed unlikely that someone he had met earlier that day was up for attending a teenagers party with him. His whole day had felt like a story, and all of this was preplanned by someone. Ignoring his new friends, Jack looked back to his phone and shot back a reply. 

**I don’t see why not. I’ll get the time and address from Hic, then I’ll pick you up?**

An immediate reply. She must’ve been waiting for him to respond. 

**Sure! See you then <3**

She sent another text with her address. Searching it up, he realised it was on the other side of town, but it was doable. Jack tried to stay with the conversation after that point, but his brain was too occupied with Rapunzel, and the thought that Tuffnut might have laced his sushi with wasabi.


	3. Dragged To A 16 Year Old's Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack attends Gustav's party, and gets a nerve wracking invitation

After some issues with missing Rapunzel’s house entirely and putting in the complete wrong address for Gustav’s house, leading them to the middle of nowhere they finally arrived. Rapunzel had made the decision to send video snippets to Hiccup of their escapade, which Jack was not pleased about. He kept saying to himself that it was completely unprofessional to go to a student’s birthday, but he became a little more lenient after Rapunzel reminded him that the boy was his friend’s nephew, so it was a free pass on their part. 

Once they reached the party, Jack realised that of all of the stupendous things Gustav had listed to him earlier that day, half of them were actually true. Unfortunately, they were the less extravagant ones on the list. A TV and video game console were set up in the living room, and it was occupied by a group of teenagers, Gustav’s friends no doubt. A large standing speaker was sitting in the far corner of the living area, blasting a song Jack couldn’t pick up on, either from the overlapping voices of conversation, or he was too old to know it. 

Jack expected Rapunzel to thank him for the ride and go off to find Hiccup, but she stayed by his side. Looking around the house, he saw Hiccup leaning against a kitchen island laughing with a young woman. She had black hair tied back into a braid, and piercing green eyes. Jack made his way to them, Rapunzel tailing behind him. Hiccup smiled and waved when he spotted them.

“Ah! Overland, you made it,” His smile was infectious. “This is my sister, Heather.” He turned to his sister and muttered something to her. Jack heard the words ‘car’ and ‘phone’ which could only mean Hiccup was not the only one to see those videos Rapunzel took. His suspicion was confirmed when he heard Rapunzel laughing behind her hand. 

“Did you show everyone those videos?”

“No,” Hiccup answered far too quickly. Heather’s raised brows seemed to contradict what her brother was saying. He decided that he had been backed into a corner and ushered the adults out to the back porch. Jack made a point to go say hello to Gustav, and face the questions from his friends about a teacher being there. He stayed there, taking a spot on the sofa and watched the game. Gustav insisted that as the “Cool Teacher (but don’t tell Hayden I said that)”, he had to prove his skills at the game. Having not held any kind of controller newer than a Wii, Jack decided that he did pretty well. Hiccup came back inside and dragged him away from the TV however, before he could start another round. 

The music playing in the house was connected to another sound system outside, which Hiccup had made a point to turn down. A fire pit sat out in the backyard, grabbing Jack’s attention. Jack found himself wedged into a loveseat between Hiccup and Rapunzel. He didn’t want to admit it, but Hiccup was rather good at this whole ‘wingman’ business, he just didn’t know if Rapunzel had noticed. The flames flickered, the orange light reflecting off of the golden head to his right. 

“Not every day you’re at a party of someone you just met?” Rapunzel asked, also looking off at the fire. There was a comfort in the warmth, a pocket of the sun that was creeping away under the horizon. 

“Yeah, it’s not a common occurrence,” 

Jack zoned out of the conversation until a blonde woman he hadn’t seen before showed up with a small cooler. Hiccup got up and kissed her before grabbing drinks out of it. That must be the fiancée, Jack thought to himself, as Hiccup handed him a beer. 

“I thought this was a kids party?”

“And we weren’t gonna drink?” Hiccup’s fiancée, Astrid - he had learnt that during lunch, shot back. 

“I met you guys what, yesterday,” Jack said, opening the bottle in his hand. “I don’t know how you party.”

“True.”

The adults party went for a few hours, Gustav’s aunt Heather occasionally leaving the conversation to say goodbye to the teen party goers who were being collected by parents. Jack stayed seated next to Rapunzel, the smell of her perfume fading and mixing with the fruity drink in her hand. His own drink had been empty for a while, but he had no desire to keep drinking, the weight of his keys in his pocket reminding him that he still had to drive home. 

“Jack,” a voice brought him out of his thoughts. Astrid was standing in front of him, waving her hand in his face. He blinked and looked up.

“What’s up?” He asked, and an envelope fell into his lap. Opening it, he found a wedding invitation, with Hiccup and Astrid’s full names and an RSVP date written in silver calligraphy. The date for the event was scheduled for the end of term, which made sense if one of the parties involved was a teacher. 

“Do I need a plus one to this too?”

“If you can think of anyone. Everyone here is already going.” She said

“Didn’t want to leave the new guy out,” Hiccup remarked, nudging his new friend’s shoulder. 

The fear of attending a wedding plagued Jack’s fears for the rest of the night. After dropping off Rapunzel to her grateful housemate Cassandra, Jack took the quiet drive home wondering to himself. If he was this nervous about someone else's big day, how would he be if he ever did the same?


End file.
